Sacramento abounds with good Japanese fare, but if you’re tired of too many over-the-top sushi rolls, vegetable tempura and chicken teriyaki, it’s time to pop into Kru.

Respected for its avant-garde Japanese cuisine, Kru offers its customers a creative, out-of-the-box menu that’s sure to excite. I visited recently and had a knockout lunch that included a plateful of Hamachi tuna carpaccio, topped with thin slices of jalapeno chilis and enlivened with a brisk, palate-cleansing ponzu sauce; an intriguing age-dashi tofu (lightly fried cubes of tempura in a pool of warm tempura sauce); and the plump “Cindy” roll, bursting with tuna and crab.

Other not-to-miss menu items are the kitchen’s sake-steamed mussels and clams; and the succulent green tea and brown rice smoked duck. Note: the restaurant has limited outdoor sidewalk dining – a great choice on balmy Sacramento evenings.